OzAsia Festival is Australia’s annual premier international arts festival that features the finest theater, dance, music, film, talks and visual arts that Asia has to offer.

As part of CENDANA’s strategic partnership with South Australia, CENDANA signed a MoU with the Adelaide Festival Trust Centre to enhance cultural exchange with the intent of internalising Malaysian artists and professionalising local talent.

Part of this programme includes providing opportunities to a Malaysian administration to be on OzAsia Festival grounds to learn and be part of the team that drives this platform (for many Australian premiere seasons by contemporary artists from Asia and also hosts major international conferences and events that bring together leading arts and cultural representatives to strengthen Australia-Asia arts engagement).

Festival manager and arts administrator Koe Gaik Cheng was selected among 15 applications for an internship opportunity at this year’s OzAsia Festival that will take place from 7th July until 19 August.

Koe Gaik Cheng started to be involved in festival management and arts administrative since 2012 as a volunteer and since then slowly progressing into full time basis with George Town Festival. She was involved in George Town Festival until 2014 and following that had further built up her experience and challenging her capabilities as a freelancer with Tropfest South East Asia 2014, George Town Heritage Celebrations from 2015 to 2017 and her most recent works would be her involvement with Penang International Food Festival in 2017 and 2018.

“There is no word to describe the excitement I had when I received the news that I was selected for the internship with OzAsia Festival. Coming from an administrative background, I would like to learn more about programming process in a festival and implement them in Little Door Festival that I’m working on. Thanks to CENDANA and OzAsia Festival for giving me this opportunity. Hopefully there will be more support towards the arts and cultural industry in future.”

It was rather a long process in determining the best candidate. Application was open on the 5th through 30th January with 3 levels of review and interviews that took place throughout February – the last being a Skype interview with OzAsia Festival Director, Joseph Mitchell for the final top 3 candidates.

Highly recommended by Festival Director, Joe Sidek, Koe Gaik Cheng is always willing to share her expertise and help others. Let us together wish her the very best in absorbing and consuming everything that she can learn from her internship at OzAsia and bring back that knowledge while making Malaysia proud.

We wish Gaik Cheng all the best and look forward to her knowledge sharing when she returns!